Revelations
by Red Giant
Summary: What would happen if Draco's most shaming secret fell into Harry's hands? If Harry finally gets a chance to take retribution for every wrong thing Draco had ever done to him and his friends? Would he take the chance? **Chapter 2 now up!**
1. Chapter one

"Look, Ron, if you only studied once in a while instead of..."

"Study study study! All you want to do in life is study! Even with..."

Harry sighed and did his best to tune them out. They always were like this. The slightest thing would set them off and they would argue until Ron's face turn purple and Hermione began having conniptions. Hours later, they'd disappear somewhere and come back acting as if they'd never argued in their life. 

Most other days, their constant arguing didn't bother Harry. He even tended to find humor in it. On that day, however, it annoyed Harry to no end. Another grueling day of Snape's class, combined with a burn from Hagrid's newest "Cute and cuddly pet", had Harry's patience worn thin.

"ME! It was your fault that..." 

Harry shook his head and ducked down a side hallway while they were still arguing. He wasn't surprised that Ron and Hermione didn't even notice him gone, because when those two got together they acted like no one else existed. Harry heaved a sigh of relief to have gotten away.

As the sound of their arguing died away, Harry became aware of a different sound. Harry, curious, followed the sound around the bend of the hallway until he saw a boy curled up into a ball sobbing quietly. Next to the boy sat a letter in a tightscrawl, slightly crinkled and with several smudges from where tears had fallen on the paper. 

"Are... Are you Alright?" Harry said quietly, so as not to startle the boy.

The boy was startled, despite Harry's effort. The boy jumped to his feet at the sound of Harry's voice, grabbed the letter from beside him and whirled around to face Harry. Harry almost couldn't suppress the moan of dismay when he recognize the tear-streaked face of the boy. He'd almost tried to comfort Draco Malfoy!

"Potter!" Draco tried to scream indignantly while whipping tears from his face. "W-what are you doing here? If you thought I was crying, you were wrong!" 

Harry sighed. As much as he desired to taunt Draco and try to make Draco's life as miserable as Draco had tried to make his, Harry found that he could not. It wasn't in him to taunt someone for something so personal. "No, Draco..." Harry said softly. "I didn't think you were crying.

Draco nodded, and Harry could have sworn that the look Draco gave him was grateful. The look only lasted an instant before the same smug and egotistical expression entered his face. The expression Draco wore then looked odd with his cheeks so red from tears.

"That's right, Potter, and don't you forget it." Draco said as a parting shot before he gathered his books up and headed back out of the hallway, brushing past Harry as if he didn't exist.

Harry stood there, staring at Draco until Draco was well out of sight. "What a day I've had..." Harry bemoaned. It was as he shook his head that he noticed a piece of paper lying on the ground where Draco had been. Curious, Harry bent and picked it up, only to drop it again when he realized what it was.

It was the tear smudge ink that made it so easily identifiable. The handwriting was not easily legible, as if the writer were possessed by a strong emotion when he'd written it. At the bottom left hand corner of the letter was the unmistakable signature of Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father.

Harry felt tempted to read the letter than and there. He even scanned the first part of the letter, but stopped from guilt. He had no right to read Draco's mail. No right at all. Torn between whether to take the letter or leave it, Harry decided to take it with him, shoving it in his pocket to keep it hidden. Better to keep it with him, where he knew it would be safe, than to leave it lying around for anyone else to pick it up and read it. That's what Harry tried to tell himself, anyway. The letter in his pocket occupied Harry's thoughts all the way back to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry's revire was broken by Hermione's concerned voice. "Harry! There you are!" She cried upon sighting him. "Where did you go? We were so worried when you disappeared on us. How can you be so irresponsible, leaving off on your own like that?!"

"Careful, Harry," Ron whispered into Harry's ear as Hermione continued to berate him. "Hermione was about to assemble a search and rescue party. I swear she thinks at any moment you-know-who is going to pop out and gobble you up."

Harry mumbled something in response, he could never remember what, and stumbled up the stairs towards his bed, telling Hermione and Ron that he was very tired and needed his rest because it was a busy day tomorrow. Harry was so lost in thought that he didn't even remember that tomorrow was a Saturday, and he had nothing better to do but homework and studying.

"Bloody... do ya' think Harry's gone bonkers?" Ron asked, sharing a confused glance with Hermione.

"I don't know... Maybe he's catching something?" Hermione replied, as baffled as Ron. 

"Or maybe he's studied too hard?" Ron suggested. "Maybe that's driven him off the edge."

"Ron, don't be ridiculous. Contrary to what you believe, studying is good for you!" Hermione retorted, whirling away from Ron in a huff. Within moments, both of them had forgotten Harry's odd behavior.

Back up in his room, Harry made sure that no one had decided to retire early before pulling the letter out. He didn't know why he should be so worried, but guilt gnawed at the back of his mind. He knew he should do the right thing. He knew he should throw the letter into the fire, where it would be destroyed and it's contents safe. He knew all that, but still he slowly, gently unwrinkled the edges of the letter.

Harry stopped for his moment, thinking about how quickly Draco had crushed the letter, just so Harry couldn't see it. "Don't be silly, Harry..." Harry said to himself. "For all the evil he's done to you, it can't hurt to have something to fight back with."

Repeating that in his mind, Harry began to wade through the letter. Lucius' script was hard to read, but after reading the first sentence, Harry was dedicated to deciphering every last worked.

_Draco, _it began simply. _Let it be known to you that you are a disgrace to the Malfoy name. Academically, you have the worst notes since your mentally incompetent uncle Mattrim attended Hogwarts decades ago. That, I could forgive. Several days ago, your relationship to..._ Here several words were blotted by tears. _...and only now the depths of what has been going on before our very noses has come to light. It is not only who, but what. A muggle, Draco. A muggle! Perhaps your taste do run in an odd direction, and that too is forgivable, but not the fact that your choice in... mates is no better than the spawn of worthless Muggles! I would not be surprised if soon you would not be speaking against Lord Voldemort with the rest of that sniveling flock of muggle-lovers. Know now that any hopes of regaining your relationship is pointless. I even went so far as to inform... _The next word was smudged, but looked like "His parents" _...about your relationship. They appeared to be even more upset than I that your relationship had taken place. If I were not so merciful, I would disown you this instant and throw you out. Even now I am tempted, but for your mother sake I will keep you for a time and grant you a chance to redeem yourself. Be warned, however. If you do another thing to shame the Malfoy name, you will have no family. _It was signed simply "Lucius Malfoy."

A slow, evil grin grew on Harry's face. Finally, life had given him a break! The single piece of paper in his hand was his ticket to freedom from the teasing of Malfoy, and with any luck, the entire Slytherin house!

Harry was so excited, he could not sleep for the entire night. He kept going through his plan of how to confront Draco about the letter, how to finally extract revenge for every second of suffering he had to endure from Draco's hand. Harry couldn't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning, but when he finally did pass into the land of Nod, there was a wry smile on his face.


	2. Chapter two

Chapter 2

The weekend seemed to last an eternity for Harry. He couldn't concentrate on his homework at all, and his thoughts kept drifting back to Draco's letter, safely stashed away in Harry's trunk. Harry was running his plot through his mind over and over again, planning even the slightest detail.

He knew he would have Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherin house on Monday, and doubtless Draco would be there with his two goons Crabbe and Goyle. The lesson would proceed as usual (Harry hoped), and at some point Hagrid would let them "meet and greet" with their creature of the day. It was then Harry hoped to pounce. 

The hardest part of the plan would be how to separate Draco from his flock of goons. Harry spent hours trying to decide what was the best way to get Draco away from the others, without drawing suspicion to himself. The roughly 10-15 minutes of time Hagrid gives them to get aquatinted with pets would give Harry the chance he needed to get Draco's attention.

The later details Harry didn't worry about. Threaten Draco with blackmail, Draco gets frightened, Harry lays out his demands. Compared to the first step, Harry thought, the rest would be a breeze. 

Another difficulty arose over that eternity of a weekend. Ron, Hermione, and some of the other Gryffindors were becoming worried by Harry's recent apathetic behavior. Harry seemed distracted, aloof, and uncaring about anyone or anything. For two whole days, any answer Harry gave was a short as possible, and any attempt to draw Harry into a conversation was futile. Harry didn't notice how oddly he was behaving, but every one else did. By the time Monday morning rolled around, almost every Gryffindor that knew Harry on sight (which is to say, all of them) had their eye on Harry.

Harry became aware of everyone's sudden interest in his welfare when he was asked how he was from about twenty people in the time it took him to walk from his room to the Gryffindor common room. The constant staring set him on edge, and he about jumped out of his pants when Ron came up behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Careful, Harry. You jump like that, and everyone will think spiders have decided to nest in your pants." Ron said ruefully. Ron shivered at the thought of spiders, but went on as if it were his normal greeting. "You'll never believe what I heard!"

"What?" Harry asked, only listening with half and ear. He was going through his plan again, despite his best efforts not to.

"Hagrid's brought in a Chimera. A Chimera! You know, the gigantic lions with the big teeth, the bat wings, and the scorpion tale. Harry, are you even listening?!" Ron's voice was a mixture of excitement and annoyance.

"What? Oh, yeah, Ron. I'm listening. A shamera. Cool." Harry replied absently. 

"A CHIMERA" Hermione corrected, coming up on Harry's other side. "Seriously, Harry. When was the last time you even opened your Care for Magical Creatures text book? The Chimera is a malevolent intelligent magical being, incredibly deadly and almost as resistant to magic as dragons. I hear tell that control the Chimera, five wizards had to place the constraints on him. He'll be no danger to us, but this is a rare treat to see something so dangerous in captivity."

A grin grew on Harry's face. Even better! Crabbe and Goyle would stare at anything as dumb and beastly as they were. Harry's plan couldn't be proceeding any better.

Hermione misinterpreted Harry's smile for a look of excitement. "That's right, Harry. A real live Chimera, here! Oh, I want to get pictures!" With that, Hermione turned and ran back up to her room, leaving Ron and Harry plodding outside to Hadgrid's home.

It was an overcast day, the sun hidden behind thick clouds that bore no hint of rain. The temperate was wonderful, a little on the warm sighed, but a soft, cool breeze flowed across the lake and onto the students. Harry's day was feeling brighter already.

Harry was surprised to find that he could descry the Chimera against the forest back drop the instant he stepped out of Hogwarts. Harry had know that it was massive, but he had been thinking of something the size of a large pony, but not much bigger. Though it was hard to be certain at that distance, Harry believed the Chimera was bigger than any normal horse he'd ever seen, even bigger than the draft horses he'd seen on the Dursley's television set. Maybe even larger than the horses that had pulled Madam Maxine's coach the year before.

As the students walked towards Hagrid's hut, a roar split the air and the Chimera flexed it's huge scorpion tail and bat-like wings. A hush fell over the students, until the Chimera's little display was over. Harry couldn't help but wonder what Hagrid had to do to have gotten permission to bring something so obviously dangerous to Hogwarts, especially after the Hypogryph fiasco two years earlier.

"A'right, everyone." Hagrid's voiced boomed, louder even than the roars of the Chimera. " Listen up! This 'ere Chimera is not your typical cute and cuddly critter." Those words had a lot of meaning: Hagrid thought that even dragons and Cerebus were cute and cuddly. "This one is real dangerous. Had to get a control put on him by professional wizards, we did. He won't hurt ye if you don' get too close, but... ahh... don't provoke him."

Harry shuddered at the thought of provoking that thing. Up close, the Chimera was even more intimidating than at a distance. It's mouth was filled with teeth the size of steak knives, and it displayed them every time it roared. Under the fur, the chimera's skin seemed to sparkle, as if it had scales. It's claws were black and a long as daggers, and it's scorpion tail glistened with poison. Most frightening of all were it's eyes: Dark orbs that seemed to root you to your spot, filled with hate and rage at being captured.

So engrossed was Harry that at first he didn't notice Draco standing off alone to the side of the Chimera's pen. Harry's heart jumped. Now was the perfect chance. 

Moving slowly, Harry made his way towards Draco. Luckily, the Chimera held everyone's attention, so no one even glanced in his direction. Not even Draco. Bracing himself, he leaned forward and whispered in Draco's ear.

"I have the letter." Harry said quietly. 

Draco practically jumped from his skin, his face terror stricken. "Potter... you..." He stuttered, then shut his mouth. Draco looked as if he were about to wet his pants. His eyes held little hope, and his bottom lip trembled as if he were near tears. 

"I didn't tell anyone what it said." Harry whispered, trying to keep Draco at least somewhat sensible. "And I won't, so long as you give me what I want."

"What do you want, Harry?" Draco asked hollowly. He feared what Harry might ask almost as much by what Harry had. Almost.

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had spent so much time planning the confrontation, he had not spent any time at all thinking about why he wanted to do it in the first place. Harry's mind raced to think of something.

"Well?" Draco asked angrily. "What do you want? Don't tell me you don't want anything. You wouldn't have told me you had it, in that case." 

"I want... I want you to stop trying to hurt me and my friends!" Harry said quickly, trying to recover. 

"That's it?" Draco asked. He no longer seemed angry, only confused. "After all I put you through, that's it? You just want me to leave you alone? And you won't tell anyone about the letter?"

Harry nodded. "I swear, no one will ever learn of it, if you keep your end of the bargain." It was not the revenge Harry had hoped for, but then, it was his own fault. His single mindedness had cost him the sweet taste of revenge. But it had not been for nothing. At least one minor annoyance was gone from his life.

"Potter... Harry..." Draco began, but stopped once more. He looked almost thankful. Instead of finishing, he just shook his head and turned away.

Harry smiled. He had won, after all. He should feel ecstatic. Instead, he felt only relief that his plan was done. Shrugging off his thoughts, Harry turned to search for Hermione and Ron. 

Another roar came from the Chimera, and though Harry jumped at the sound, Harry didn't bother to turn around. The Chimera had been roaring regularly since Harry had gotten them. This time, however, shouts and a loud crash followed the roar. Harry turned just in time to see a massive stinger flying straight towards his head. Harry had no time to do anything except turn to shield his face before the stinger hit. 

Pain wracked Harry's body. Harry's world was pain, a pain that was eating him from the inside out. Harry's last thought before everything went black was that Voldemort was going to be very disappointed.


End file.
